Not very likely to be named LMDE 3 for the next release, and instead will be come back to true versionless like Tumbleweed, Arch, Gentoo etc.

That's not happening.

I do not understand the Mint versions of LMDE. By definition, a rolling release has no versions. Arch puts out a new ISO every month for new installations, snapshots not versions.

LMDE is not a rolling release, and has not been even simi-rolling for several years.
Debian is staged... LMDE uses it as base... When the foundation changes LMDE needs to change with it or go independent.
Mint did actually issue a new LMDE2 ISO recently, but updated original would be the same... it makes that initial update easier.

My bad. I did not realize that. According to wikipedia, LMDE1 was semi-rolling release via "release Packs". LMDE2 is not. I ran LMDE1 for a bit back in the day and thought LMDE is still rolling. I guess the main difference from regular Mint is being straight from Debian rather than Ubuntu.

At least since LMDE 3 Linux Mint would like to keep it syncing with the latest stable (Debian) distro, like the above sources list. Honestly I look Jessie so aging which users would be recommended to upgrade Stretch over Jessie.
And before I can remove MintSources and Synaptic why I am warned which I am removing essentials?

It needs to be unchanged to me whether my base installation is Debian OR Linux Mint, the base repo of Debian have an importance to me, which I can also append Qubes, Subgraph, VyOS into my Linux Mint (LMDE), I have also appended the kernel-libre like one built into gNewSense and Trisquel.

mike acker wrote:there are options for users--
if you feel comfortable adjusting and tinkering in Linux -- you might,-- (a) load a regular dist. and then install a kernel of your preference, or (b) go straight Debian
someplace around here i have the links to get Straight Debian,--